Iran's Ahmadinejad slams West, prompts walk-out

Thursday, September 22, 2011 - 02:00

Sept. 22 - Diplomats from the United States and other western nations walk out of the United Nations General Assembly as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers his address, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon as a pretext for U.S. attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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(ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacked Western powers on Thursday for a catalogue of misdeeds, but his address to the United Nations failed to mention Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
The U.S. delegation walked out when Ahmadinejad said "arrogant powers" threatened anyone who questioned the Holocaust and the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States with sanctions and military action. Other Western delegations soon made their exit.
Ahmadinejad made only a passing reference to the Palestinian issue which has overshadowed this year's U.N. General Assembly and did not comment on the Palestinian plan to ask the U.N. Security Council to recognize their nascent state.
He accused the United States of using the "mysterious" Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a pretext to launch wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States and its allies "view Zionism as a sacred notion and ideology," the Iranian leader said.
"By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the Sept. 11 event with sanctions and military actions," he added.

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